Texas community colleges allow guns starting Tuesday

Texas is now the eight state to allow concealed weapons in public universities. Here are the other seven.
Chelsea Land, USA TODAY

A sign is posted outside of one of El Paso Community College's testing centers labels it a gun-free zone. Permit holders will be able to carry handguns on Texas community college campuses starting Aug. 1, 2017.(Photo: Ruben R. Ramirez, El Paso Times)

Texas Senate Bill 11, also known as the Campus Carry Law, allows people with a license to carry a concealed handgun on the grounds and in the buildings of colleges and universities. The law went into effect for four-year universities in August 2016 but community colleges were given an extra year to comply.

Private colleges and universities can opt out.

In the 28,000-student El Paso Community College system, officials said they are ready to abide by the law while remaining vigilant of possible security problems.

“Any time there is a new law, it’s our job to be vigilant, to make sure that, first of all, nobody is violating the law,” said Capt. Joseph Barragan of the El Paso Community College police.

Handguns now will be allowed on all college and university campuses statewide for licensed carriers, but the pistols must be worn under clothing or placed in a purse or pack that a person is carrying. Openly showing a gun, including in a holster that is substantially visible, anywhere on campus still will be illegal, he said.

Aug. 1, 2017, is the first day that permit holders will be allowed to carry concealed handguns on Texas community college campuses. But some buildings can be temporarily or permanently be declared gun-free zones.(Photo: Ruben R. Ramirez, El Paso Times)

People must be at least 21 years old to obtain a concealed carry license in Texas.

“It is a little concerning for us, but we are just being pro-active," said Barragan, who provided additional active-shooter training for his police force's 40 officers. "We are prepared to handle everything.”

Classes for El Paso Community College begin Aug. 21, but the campuses have an array of activities year-round, including youth, teen and adult continuing education courses and summer camps.

Student Martin Renteria, 25, called the new law “silly” and unnecessary.

“I understand people need to feel safe, but the majority of people in college aren’t fully emotionally mature yet," he said. "So, let’s say you give somebody a handgun and what happens when (they) are having relationship problems? I just think the whole thing is a recipe for disaster.”

Renteria, who has attended classes at the community college's Valle Verde Campus for three semesters, said he has not experienced or seen any kind of violence on campus to make him believe the campus carry law was needed.

“I feel it’s completely unnecessary and it’s not the place for it,” he said.

Guns also will off limits at El Paso's early college high schools, a statewide program where high school students can graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate's degree at the end of four years..

Libraries can be turned into temporary gun-free zones during children’s events, Barragan said. Hazardous chemicals housed at the health and science building on the community college's Rio Grande Campus will mark it as a permanent gun-free building.

Texas has about 1.15 million active gun-license holders, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Most applicants who received their license this past fiscal year were 43 to 61 years old.